Medical conditions may be treated through the application of electrical stimulation to patient tissue targeted for treatment. For example, implantable pulse generators (IPGs) such as pacemakers and implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICDs), which are used in the treatment of cardiac conditions, and neuromodulators or neurostimulators, which are used in chronic pain management or the actuation and control of other body systems, are commonly linked to targeted patient tissue via one or more implantable medical leads. As a result, electrical stimulation originating in the IPG is transmitted to the targeted patient tissue via the one or more implantable medical leads. Conversely and where applicable for the type of therapy, the one or more implantable medical leads transmit electrical signals originating in the targeted patient tissue to the IPG to be sensed by the IPG.
Various lead configurations may be used to deliver electrical stimulation to cardiac tissue to treat cardiac conditions such as, for example, bradycardia, tachycardia, etc. In doing so, the distal region of the implantable medical lead, which supports one or more electrodes, is attached to the targeted patient tissue, which is typically cardiac tissue that is moving on account of the patient heart beating. This tissue displacement can result in dislodgement of the attached distal region of the implantable medical lead and/or damage to the implantable medical lead.
Spinal Cord Stimulation (SCS) is a type of chronic pain management that involves driving an electrical current into particular regions of the spinal cord to induce paresthesia, which is a subjective sensation of numbness or tingling in a region of the body associated with the stimulated spinal cord region. Paresthesia masks the transmission of chronic pain sensations from the afflicted regions of the body to the brain, thereby providing pain relief to the patient.
Typically, an SCS system delivers electrical current through electrodes implanted along the dura layer surrounding the spinal cord. The electrodes may be carried, for example, by a paddle lead, which has at its distal region a paddle-like configuration with the electrodes arranged on a relatively large planar surface area, or a percutaneous lead, which also includes the electrodes at its distal region, but the electrodes are arranged around a tube.
The spine is capable of significant displacement when transitioning from extension to flexion and vice versa. The tissue displacement associated with spinal extension/flexion can result in dislodgement and/or damage to a distal region of an implantable medical lead implanted in the area of extension/flexion.
It is with these observations in mind, among others, that various aspects of the present disclosure were conceived and developed.